Fire in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris it exploded on April 15, 2019. Reconstruction took five years. About 50 world leaders will take part in the opening ceremony of the renovated cathedral. Including, among others: US president-elect Donald Trump and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Investigation into the causes of the fire in the Notre-Dame Cathedral is still going on. Investigators tend to believe that it was an accident.
Poles took part in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral
As it turns out, in the renovation of Notre-Dame Cathedral Poles also took part. Felicja Lamprecht, a Polish conservator who preserves wall paintings, worked in the cathedral for four years. She renovated 12 chapels of Notre-Dame. – There was salting, so it was necessary to glue it, stabilize the painting layer and, above all, the substrate. The time spent on cleaning – I think that was the biggest challenge,” explains the Polish conservator in an interview with Polish Radio. The conservators fought a race against time to complete reconstruction in five years. In addition, they had to face challenges such as: coronavirus pandemic and lead contamination of the monument.
Our time was measured against Covid and lead protocols. They were very restrictive
– recalls Felicja Lamprecht – It took us a lot of time. We had to change clothes, take showers, put on masks and protective suits. All this doubled the working time during the day, says the conservator.
Notre-Dame Cathedral rebuilt. Gigantic costs
Reuters reminds that a fire destroyed the spire and roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral“and the entire Gothic masterpiece could collapse in a matter of minutes.” Now an 860-year-old medieval cathedral, a symbol of France and Paris, has been carefully restored. It has a new spire and ribbed vault, its arched buttresses and carved stone gargoyles have regained their former glory, and the white stone and gold decorations shine brighter than ever,” Reuters describes. “The whole planet was shocked that day,” he said of the fire. French President Emmanuel Macron before Saturday's opening ceremony.
The shock of reopening will be – I believe and want to believe – as strong as the one caused by the fire, but it will be a shock of hope
– he added. On Friday evening, President Macron's office and the Paris diocese announced that due to the forecast of strong winds, the celebrations would take place entirely inside the cathedral. Emmanuel Macron was initially expected to deliver a speech outside.
Thousands of skilled craftsmen – from carpenters and stonemasons to stained glass artists – have been working around the clock for the past five years, using traditional methods to restore, repair or replace anything that has been damaged or damaged. Money for the reconstruction of the cathedral Notre-Dame flowed from all over the world. According to offices President Macron received over 840 million euro. Alone Cost renovation costs over EUR 700 million, so as Reuters emphasizes, “there are still funds for further investments in the building.”